Putting the brakes on.

New portable testing equipment being deployed by the New Zealand police is hoped to lead to a cutback in accidents caused by faulty brakes on heavy vehicles.
The equipment has been supplied by Auckland company Sulco Tools & Equipment Ltd.
Director Brett Higgins explained that four sets of testing equipment, which is imported from Denmark, has been acquired, and these would be deployed in Christchurch, Palmerston North, Rotorua and Auckland.
Each set of equipment, which comprises a roller tester, large readout gauges, plus computers, fits into one closed trailer, and is designed in such a way that it can be set up by one person.
In addition a special tow vehicle is being built which will incorporate a generator and mobile office.
Higgins said the whole focus on the campaign was on safety rather than taking punitive measures.
He explained that currently when vehicles were tested for WOF at a test station a vehicle was tested unladen.
However, this would not always give a true indication of the braking performance once a load was put aboard.
By using the new equipment in random roadside checks, though, a vehicle would be tested while “on the job”, which would mean it would usually be in a fully laden condition.
“In this way the police are getting a full picture of the laden vehicle,” he said.
The equipment tests the brake force on all the axles to ensure the total vehicle meets with safety requirements, and also tests any trailers for vehicle compatibility, as well as testing the truck’s coupling pressure.
Vehicles chosen for testing are simply driven onto the rollers, and the driver is asked to perform various actions.
The operator can read out the results from large gauges set up in front of the vehicle – and which can also be read by the driver for confirmation – and data is stored on a laptop computer, which can do a printout of the results, as well as storing the facts for later analysis.
Higgins said that if a vehicle was found to be defective, depending on the severity of the defect it might be unloaded so it can be driven away to have the defect fixed.
“However if it’s too dangerous it gets parked up,” he said.
Higgins hinted that new legislation was on the cards to change the way vehicles will be tested at WOF testing stations around the country. “It could change from testing unladen to testing laden,” he said.
He said the Sulco equipment could also be used to test cars, although at the moment the police would be concentrating on heavy vehicles.
“Sulco has been instrumental in introducing overseas technology to the testing stations,” he said.
He added that not only were the police buying the equipment, but also other organisations and fleet owners.  “It puts them in a position
to test, not guess,” he said. n
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